The warrant for the Fall Special Town meeting will open on August 10 and will close on August 14, as voted by the Select Board on July 15, 2026. This means town departments and citizens will have five days to submit their warrant articles to the Town Clerk's office for review. Special Town Meeting will be held on October 20, 2026.
If you are interested in submitting a citizen's petition on the Town Warrant, find the form and instructions here. In order to bring a petition to the Fall Special Town Meeting, the Pembroke resident must secure at least 100 signatures from Pembroke registered voters in support of the petition. When complete, the form and signatures are submitted to the Town Clerk's office, who will then verify the signatures with the Board of Registrars. For that reason, it is advised that a petitioner collect more than the 100 required signatures.
Any petitioner who has collected the required signatures will then need to present their article to the Select and Advisory Boards. It is possible that if the proposed petition does not meet guidelines for the legal requirements, it could be rejected by the Boards. If allowed, the petitioner will be expected to attend and present their petition at the Town Meeting, answering questions if necessary. Any petition that requires a by-law change is expected to be discussed in advance with the department head involved. The Town guidance suggests that petition language be reviewed by a private attorney prior to submitting to the Town Clerk.
Citizen's petitions in the past have included a wide range of topics. May 2023, saw a petition to amend election recall provisions, and in October 2021, there was a petition to ask the town to vote to oppose the creation of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee that had been approved by the Select Board. A petition was submitted in May 2019 to ask the town to appropriate $5,000 to fund services provided by the South Shore Community Action Council, and in May 2018, there was a Right to Farm by-law amendment request to prevent fees or permit fees being changed "for the keeping of 10 or less poultry and 5 or less rabbits".
The citizen's petition is a valuable tool in town government, but it is always advised to start early and be sure your petition meets the legal requirements. Submission of any petition language begins at 8am Monday August 10, and ends at noon on Friday August 14, 2026. All petitions and signatures should be submitted to the Town Clerk's office, Room 11, in Town Hall.
